City of Lockport

The Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Draft Pre-nomination Study (June 2008) was prepared for the city of Lockport by TVGA Consultants as part of a planning grant from the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The grant is to be used towards the establishment of a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA), jumpstarting the planning process needed to assess the region’s contaminated sites and how to implement plans for development/revitalization. The Draft Pre-nomination Study is the first step of a three-part process in the BOA program, establishing the physical parameters of the BOA and preliminary analysis and recommendations for development that can be used towards later stages of the BOA program.

After an initial city-wide inventory of brownfield sites, the Lockport City BOA focuses in on two main regions: the Erie Barge Canal and Eighteen Mile Creek. These regions are further defined as a Tourism Focus Area and an Industrial Focus Area.

The Pre-Nomination phase of the Lockport City BOA plan is strategically inclusive, encouraging close collaboration and participation between regional planning agencies, private developers, state and local governmental agencies as well as private businesses and community residents. Emphasis is placed on utilizing pre-existing regional and local development plans in order to maintain stated goals and objectives, primarily those concerned with Environment, Land Use/Economic Development and Neighborhood Revitalization. In the spirit of coordinated planning, the City of Lockport uses the Erie-NiagaraFramework for Regional Growth (2006), as a model, highlighting its three core principles of developing a “vital economy, sustainable neighborhoods and natural and cultural assets.”

The BOA Pre-Nomination stage is rooted in community participation. Opportunities for community involvement include: the Community Participation Plan (CPP), a steering committee of active community members, and a Community Visioning Workshop. The latter seeks to identify the community’s core values, and uses the results as guiding principles for continued development.

The BOA program is largely a catalyst for further research and development projects in the City of Lockport. Through the Pre-Nomination Draft Study, strong themes pertaining to the core values of the community and desired modes/outcomes of development arise, including but not limited to:

Empowering/utilizing a cross-section of public, governmental and private parties

Promoting environmental stewardship and sustainability initiatives

Promoting Economic Vitality through redevelopment of neighborhoods and urban centers

A New Way to Plan for Buffalo Niagara

Through a highly collaborative process, One Region Forward will build on the region’s momentum toward sustainable development, fill key gaps in planning and set the stage for a more vital future for Buffalo Niagara.

Key partners include: Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC), Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); Erie County, Niagara County, City of Buffalo, City of Niagara Falls, Association of Erie County Governments, Niagara County Supervisors Association, University at Buffalo Regional Institute and Urban Design Project (UBRI/UDP), Daemen College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement (CSCCE), VOICE Buffalo, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Buffalo (LISC), Western New York Environmental Alliance (WNYEA), Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, The John R. Oishei Foundation, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC), Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc. (Belmont), Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP), Empire State Development, New York State Department of State, Division of Smart Growth, Niagara County Department of Social Services, and Niagara Falls Housing Authority.